Spencer Lee, Real Woods capture Big Ten titles for Iowa wrestling
It was an extremely successful weekend for Iowa wrestling at the 2023 Big Ten Wrestling Championships!
Tom Brands’ squad successfully placed all 10 of their wrestlers at this year’s Big Ten wrestling championships. Therefore, all 10 have punched their tickets to the upcoming 2023 national wrestling championships.
The big headline of the event is Iowa producing two Big Ten champions, good for second in the competition! Penn State, of course, led with four conference champions, fueled by their dominance in the mid-upper weights. Surprisingly, this is actually the Nittany Lions’ first Big Ten Championship win since 2019. That’s astounding considering the program’s overall dominance in the recent decades.
With three seventh-place finishes, two fifth and third-place finishes, and, of course, a single second place finish, Iowa’s strong performance was good for second in the Big Ten.
While they weren’t able to top Penn State this time, they will have another opportunity to do so at the national championships. For as good of a performance as this was for the Hawkeyes lineup throughout, there definitely are areas in which they can improve and really push for the title!
Here is a roundup of the Hawkeyes at the 2023 Big Ten wrestling championships.
Spencer Lee: Champion at 125
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Spencer Lee did what he’s done all season, dominate the competition. After a bye and two technical falls, Lee defeated Nebraska‘s Liam Cronin, 8-2. Lee is now a three-time Big Ten champion. Unsurprisingly, he also took home the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Championships honor. The Big Ten Wrestler of the Year is looking to secure his fourth NCAA championship.
Brody Teske: Seventh Place at 133
Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK
Brody Teske was able to secure his place at the Big Ten wrestling championships by clinching seventh place in an 8-4 decision over Rutgers‘ Joe Heilmann.
Real Woods: Champion at 141
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Real Woods showed why he transferred to Iowa this offseason, capturing the Big Ten 141 pounds crown. Woods was well tested, earning a 3-0 decision over Northwestern’s Frankie Tal Shahar in the semifinals. Woods edged out Nebraska’s Brock Hardy 2-1 to earn his first ever Big Ten championship!
Max Murin: Third Place at 149
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Max Murin took part in a killer 149-pound bracket featuring two All-Americans in Wisconsin‘s Austin Gomez, and eventual winner Sammy Sasso out of Ohio State. While Murin was unable to upset Sasso, he was able to defeat a surging Shayne Van Ness 3-2 to earn third place!
Cobe Siebrecht: Seventh Place at 157
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It was a long and difficult road for Cobe Siebrecht to make it to the national championships. Siebrecht had to compete in three wrestle-back, defeating Indiana’s Derek Gilcher via 2-0 decision to earn seventh place.
Patrick Kennedy: Second Place at 165
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Patrick Kennedy solidified himself as a grappler to watch out for at 165 with a strong Big Ten Tournament. He defeated Michigan’s Cameron Amine via 3-2 decision to reach the Big Ten finals where he would ultimately fall to top ranked Dean Hamiti out of Wisconsin.
Nelson Brands: Fifth Place at 174
Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK
It was an extremely gritty performance from Nelson Brands to take home fifth place at the Big Ten Championships. Brands participated in two sudden-victory matches en route to the fifth-place match where he would defeat Illinois’ Edmond Ruth, 5-1.
Abe Assad: Seventh Place at 184
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It started out great for Assad, punching his ticket into the quarterfinals, but a few matches just unfortunately didn’t go his way. He was pinned in that aforementioned quarterfinals match by Michigan’s Matt Finesilver. He would also unfortunately get caught by Rutgers’ Brian Soldano for a pin as well.
While it didn’t go quite as he would have hoped, Assad did punch his ticket for the national tournament where he can definitely bounce back with a big showing!
Jacob Warner: Fifth Place at 197
Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK
It was an extremely close and competitive weekend for Jacob Warner at 197. Warner won his first two matches via 6-2 and 3-2 decisions respectively, but found himself on the wrong end of a 3-1 decision to Penn State’s Max Dean, and a 3-1 sudden-victory to Maryland’s Jaron Smith. A forfeit handed Warner the fifth place at 197.
Tony Cassioppi: Third Place at 285
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Tony Cassioppi had a very good Big Ten tournament, but unfortunately still was unable to solve Penn State’s Greg Kerkvliet, dropping a 5-0 decision in the semifinals.
Cassioppi was able to roll up his sleeves after the loss, defeating a very tough competitor in Northwestern’s Lucas Davison via sudden victory to reach the third place match. Cassioppi was as dominant as ever in that match, defeating Ohio State’s “Possibly Related to Mr. Wonderful” Tate Orndorff via 10-2 major decision.
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